Trump raises the white flag on poll
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday (AEST) said for the first time that he would leave the White House if Joe Biden was officially confirmed the winner of the US election, even as he railed against a “rigged” vote.
Mr Trump has made an unprecedented attempt to defy the results of the election by refusing to concede, spreading wild theories about stolen ballots and launching legal challenges that have been thrown out by courts.
Answering his first questions from reporters since the November 3 vote, the President moved closer to accepting that he would serve only one term before Mr Biden is inaugurated on January 20.
When asked if he would leave the White House if the Electoral College confirmed Mr Biden’s victory, Mr Trump said: “Certainly I will. And you know that.”
He added, however, that a Biden win would be “a mistake”.
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to concede,” he said. “I think that there will be a lot of things happening between now and (January) 20.”
The Electoral College, which determines the White House winner, will meet on
December 14 to certify Mr Biden’s victory, with Mr Biden receiving 306 votes to Mr Trump’s 232.
“This election was a fraud,” Mr Trump said, again without providing any evidence during his remarks to reporters at the White House after he spoke to military personnel via video-link on the Thanksgiving holiday.
He described the US voting infrastructure as “like a third-world country”.
Earlier in the day he tweeted that “this was a 100% RIGGED ELECTION”, while on Thursday (AEST) he called on his Republican supporters “to turn the election over”.
Mr Biden has said that Americans “won’t stand” for attempts to derail the vote outcome, and urged for Americans to unite to fight the worsening pandemic.
More than 260,000 people have died in the US from COVID-19, with daily death tolls surging to 2000 on recent days.
Mr Trump’s refusal to concede the election has added to the countless norms he has torn up during his four years in power.
Supporters suggest he is already eyeing a run for president in 2024. Mr Trump, 74, is alleging – among other conspiracy theories – that voting machines deliberately deleted millions of his votes, although the government election security agency declared it “the most secure” election in US history.
Under pressure from senior Republicans, Mr Trump this week ended his blockade of government assistance to ease Mr Biden’s preparation for assuming the presidency.
Mr Trump plants to soon travel to Georgia to campaign ahead of two key run-off elections that will decide which party controls the Senate.